Beeping alarm

[96sla50]

Noobie here. Bought the boat a year ago, a Skeeter sl150 w Mariner 150 outboard. No owner's manual or any other manuals with it. Today while running in a no wake zone at slow speed a rapid beep beep beep beep started going off near the throttle, and a red light on thye dash started flashing. It is a non stop beepbeepbeepbeep on and on. Talked to a guy at the boat ramp and he said it was probably the oil sensor. Big reservoir under the rear deck has about 4 or 5 inches of oil in it. Small reservoir on the motor is full. Impeller was pumping a steady stream of water out. It is a constant rappid beep beep beep, not a beeeeeeeeeeeeep. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

 

[joed]

Re: Beeping alarm

beep beep beep is low oil alarm. It could be the sensor in the tank. There is a styrofoam float with a meta ring glued to the bottom The metal ring falls off and triggers the oil alarm. One way to test that, is to remove the tank and turn it upside down. That will move the metal ring away from the sensor and the beep should stop.

 

[96sla50]

Re: Beeping alarm

Took the cap off, and ran a magnet around the bottom of the tank, which did not pick up anything. The float is on a shaft in the center of the cap and moves freely. There is nothing metal on the actual float. There is a metal ring with teeth that press in to the shaft near the bottom of the shaft apparently to keep the float on the shaft. There are two wires that go in to the center of the cap, and no other wires anywhere on the tank.
Is the sensor on the bottom of the tank below the cap, or towards one end? And is there another metal ring besides the one described attached to the float itself? I'll try your suggestion if there is. Do both wires go to the alarm, and if so which one is hot and which one is ground?

Thanks

 

[j_martin]

Re: Beeping alarm

Dang I wish folks would know what they're talking about before they tell you what to do.

The alarm is the oil alert module. That much is correct.

The problem could be
low oil in engine tank, (1 inch low will set off the alarm, telling you delivery from the boat has failed and you have about 1/2 hour to get home. Or failure of that sensor. The sensor is in the cap. You don't pull the tank to test it.

Oil Pump failure, or rotation sensor failure. (hall effect, test procedure is in the manual.)

Ignition failure. (#2 spark coil drive supplies the signal the engine is running)

Oil alert module failure. Sometimes they just wig out.

For sure, mix oil with your fuel till you know for sure the oiler is working. Then get the service manual and go through the test procedures to determine the failed part.

hope it helps
John

 

[96sla50]

Re: Beeping alarm

Thanks. I will order a manual today and see what turns up.

 

[96sla50]

Re: Beeping alarm

Went through the troubleshooting steps, and looks like the warning module has gone bad. When the tan/blue wire from the module to the strip is taken off the strip, beeping stops. Manual says module is bad. Now to find a new one.

 

[96sla50]

Re: Beeping alarm

Well, the module was not bad. Put a new one on and still beeps. Checked the level sensor and motion sensor, and they both test good. Engine is getting oil, due to smoke. A friend said it may be the switch box but I don't see how to test it. Any ideas? I am at a loss.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Beeping alarm

Move the green wire from the oil alert to another coil terminal on the switchbox. If that stops it, #2 cylinder is not firing.

BTW, low battery voltage, bad connections, or a defective ignition switch can make the oil alert wig out and beep. If the beeping occurs before the engine is cranked or started, this could be the case. If it starts beeping when you start it, then move the green wire and try again.

When you turn on the ignition, you should get 2-5 test beeps. If not, check your connections, the motion sensor is not hooked up right.

hope it helps
John

 

[96sla50]

Re: Beeping alarm

I'll try moving the green lead. It starts beeping when the engine is running. Turn the key to ON and beeps a few times and stops. All the connections are tight and clean.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Beeping alarm

I'll try moving the green lead. It starts beeping when the engine is running. Turn the key to ON and beeps a few times and stops. All the connections are tight and clean.

That's normal reaction to an actual fault. You can disconnect the oil tank sensor to make it look good. There's probing for the rotation sensor. Should be 12V on one wire, and the other should go between 5V and ground about once per revolution, speed makes no difference so while you're probing it you turn the engine with a wrench on the flywheel nut and see if it changes. The green wire has to be on an operational cylinder.

If all that checks out, the module might be bad. Usually they just really wig out or quit, though.

 

[96sla50]

Re: Beeping alarm

Haven't had a chance to move the green wire yet. But I don't think it's the module. I put a new one on and it still beeps. The new one could be bad also, but I doubt it.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Beeping alarm

Haven't had a chance to move the green wire yet. But I don't think it's the module. I put a new one on and it still beeps. The new one could be bad also, but I doubt it.

Just do the diagnostics without any pre-conceived notion of what it will be, or you will mislead yourself.

 

[Mi duckdown]

Re: Beeping alarm

j Martin. Crusty.
That is the best advise.
I myself have been fooled by pre- conceived notions. you can chase your tail all day. that is why I have OEM merc manuals to diagnose things.

 

[96sla50]

Re: Beeping alarm

I have a Clymer manual for it and have been following their diagnostic steps. The manual says that if you unhook the bro/tan wire from the strip and if beeping continues the module is bad. Doesn't this simply cut off any signal from any of the sensors to the module which would activate the alarm, since all the sensors go through the module to activate it?
Moved the green wire to another cylinder, and it still beeps.
Didn't mention it at first because I figured it was a separate issue, but when it first started the beeping, I noticed the tach was fluctuating between 0 and 2000 RPM. O for a while, then bounce up for a few seconds, then back to 0. The depth finder also quit giving a reading, but just flashes 6.4 feet.
Going to check all the wiring for them and see what turns up for those issues.

 

[96sla50]

Re: Beeping alarm

Did an oil pump output test sort of. Don't have a container that measures cc's like the manual says and the tach is not working. Put the output tube in a cup, ran it on a tank of premix, and with the engine running just above idle a drop would come out about every 15 seconds. After about 2 minutes of running the oil was not even covering the bottom of the cup. Is this about right for a 50:1 ratio? It has a 1/2 inch fuel line on it.

Manual says run it at 1800 for 3 minutes and there should be a certain range of cc's in the cup, I think around 7 to 9 cc.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Beeping alarm

I have a Clymer manual for it and have been following their diagnostic steps. The manual says that if you unhook the bro/tan wire from the strip and if beeping continues the module is bad. Doesn't this simply cut off any signal from any of the sensors to the module which would activate the alarm, since all the sensors go through the module to activate it?
Moved the green wire to another cylinder, and it still beeps.
Didn't mention it at first because I figured it was a separate issue, but when it first started the beeping, I noticed the tach was fluctuating between 0 and 2000 RPM. O for a while, then bounce up for a few seconds, then back to 0. The depth finder also quit giving a reading, but just flashes 6.4 feet.
Going to check all the wiring for them and see what turns up for those issues.

1. The clymer manual is junk. The overtemp sensor and the oil alert both drive the alarm circuit to ground. Either will set the alarm off. Of course you can isolate it at that point.

2. Low voltage or intermittent power will drive the oil alert module nuts. If you're not sure of your battery and connections, start there.

3. Get a Mercury manual and follow the simple steps to diagnose your oil system. Follow the directions. If you don't know a measurement, don't guess, fix whatever you need to to get it. (tachometer comes to mind.) If it wants a CC marked container, go to the drug store and spend fifty cents or so on one.

I'm outa here
John

 

[96sla50]

Re: Beeping alarm

1. If I knew the Clymer manual was no good I would not have wasted 50 bucks on it. I'll get a mariner manual. Live and learn.
2. The battery is new and fully charged. Checked all the connections from the tach/depth finder to the harness plug to where the harness disappears under the deck. All appear to be good. Would have mentioned the tach problem earlier but being inexperienced with boats I did not think they would/could be related.
3. I was hoping that someone with experience doing this test would give me an idea whether or not there should be a more oil coming out or not. If not I will just run it on premix until the problem is found. I checked at Lowe's, Walmart, and could not find a cc marked container. I live an hour away from either, or a drug store, so I can't just go over there and back any time. I have about 3 hours a day of free time to work on it.

I have a family reunion at my house this weekend, and was hoping to have it fixed by then ( which none of the boat shops around here could do due to them being swamped with other boats) so I wouldn't have a fuel tank strapped on the back deck. Guess we will have to make it work.

Thanks for your attempts to help. I was hoping to fix it without spending more money on parts that aren't bad, like the $280 for the module that the manual said was bad. After this weekend I will reconnect the oil system and take it to the shop.